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Topic: Buying RE.. AVL OR EFI (Read 2277 times)

hello everyone, i'm new to this forum, but not to the website.. anyway i just got my license and i'm looking for good bike to ride around the town..i have looking at RE for quite a while now .. but i can't make a decision.. should i go with 2008 used AVL or new 2009 EFI.. can somebody please help..me.. .. thanks

I think EFI 2009 is the way to go. It is a very smooth bike and lots of fun. I have a G5 and have 2500 miles on it. It is great for back roads and is happy at 55-60 mph. But I would not consider it a highway motorcycle. If you get this bike make sure the dealer has upgraded its transmission (because of a recall of early units) or get one that was built after the recall. Mine was recalled and has been fixed. It runs fine.

EFI has less problems than carburator, it has UCE - unit construction engine - means only one oil to change for engine, transmission and clutch, and finally cleaner emission because of catalytic converter. It also has good clutch too. G5 comes with a kick start and also has electric start switch.

AVL is more for nostalgia though it will do what EFI does in terms of speed. But lot more work - three oils to change, work around the carburator and more tinkering. Finally the choice is yours.

You can search under UCE - there are several people who have written about them. Here is link to my first impressions written in April 2009

sat sri akal baiji, thanks for replying.. yes i'm in USA Chicago....i have made many trips to the RE dealer... but couldn't decide what to do which one to buy.. Bullet G5 Classic EFI is costing me about 6800 out of door. .with single seat., big head light and Engine Bar.. .. every time i go to the dealer they don't have a bike running for test drive ...i'm planing to go this weekend again .. hopefully they will have one running ...RE is my first bike and that's why i'm very cautious about this purchase.... i want to make right .. i thinking about commuting to work with RE my commute is about 20 miles a day.. mostly highway.. about 65mph.. in chicago only months i can are april,may,june july, august and september.. even if i do buy this year i won't be able to ride.. due to the weather .. how is your experience going with bullet .. any surprises..

If you must go 65 the do the UCE. The AVL will do that, but only if you're careful with break-in, and free it up a bit with better air filters/pipes/canister removal.

I've thought about it for awhile, and after browsing the forums I believe it's like this:

The UCE is a Ronco rotisserie (or equivalent convection oven, etc)The AVL is a propane barbeque The IBH is a charcoal barbeque

There's not much difference in the end product between charcoal and propane, though it is significantly less work and quite a bit faster with propane. The Ronco gets you just about the same product, in even less time and preparation, with a set-it-and-forget-it mentality. A few people think it's more "manly" to use charcoal or even propane over electric, but most people don't really care either way as long as the meat gets cooked. Most everybody knows how to use charcoal, though there is a little bit of a "mystique" to it. Everybody knows how to use propane; it is pretty common, quick, and universal. The Ronco is easily taken for granted, but actually has quite a bit of flexibility and personality, but that's offset by the higher price. Eventually, though, there probably won't be many more charcoal or propane barbeques (charcoal is already a bit rare in most places) and everyone will do electric or NG.

For the record I have a 2009 Military AVL, and think it's great. Is my first bike as well.

I think if your going to be dealing with the speeds you mentioned an UCE would be the best for you. I have an '08 AVL. It is nice but will not sustain the 65 mph very long. I like mine because I'm retired and don't need to get on interstates or freeways. I gets great gas mileage, mid 80's, but I rarely go over 55 mph. The carb hasn't been touched since the dealer set it up 12 K miles ago, and nothing has gone wrong with the bike at all.

Actually, I would say an Iron Barrle is more like cooking over a wood spit. More trouble, but the food tates much better than propaine. Anyway, for what I think you're talking about, I would not really recommend a Royal Enfield at all. I lived in Chicago and you need some power reserve to commute in that mad house. It's a crazy place to learn how to ride. I would recommend something used so when you scatch it up, it won't matter as much. Until you get used to riding some, I would recommend a Japanese bike- USED.Maybe a Nimja 250, Suski GS500- something along those lines.

I live in Chicago for about 7 months back in 92, but if I recall there are a lot of nice places to ride along the lake and up to Cheese ville there in Wisconsin, good RE territory. The thing I remember is the riding season being really really short.. I got there in may and I think we had 5 days over 80 that year, I remember it snowed a lot that winter... I grew up on the Maine coast, but damn, Chicago can get cold....

I'm a very happy owner of a 2006 AVL, but I'll go along with the majority here. I won't even suggest what you should get but will say that I would get an EFI if I were in the market (even though you've asked for our humble opinions!).